The disclosure relates generally to orthopedic implants, and more particularly, but not necessarily entirely, to a cementless tibial implant and component of a knee joint.
In total knee arthroplasty, the knee joint is replaced with an artificial knee implant. The knee implant traditionally includes a femoral component and a tibial component. It is common practice to ream a portion of the bone (the distal end of the femur and the proximal portion of the tibia) to provide a channel to receive a stem of either the femoral component or the tibial component. A first knee replacement is referred to as a primary surgery. Fixation of the implant to the bone (femur or tibia) in a primary surgery may be achieved through cementing the implant to the bone or biologic fixation (non-cemented techniques) or otherwise.
In some cases, over time, implants may fail for one reason or another. For example, wear, infection, improper loading of the bone followed by loosening of the implant in the bone are reasons for implant failure. In such cases, a revision surgery may be required to properly fix the implant to the bone.
Despite the advantages of modern knee replacement systems, improvements are still being sought. The disclosure relates to a cementless tibial component that may be used in a primary surgery or in a revision surgery. The disclosure minimizes, and in some aspects eliminates, the failures encountered in modern tibial components by utilizing the methods and structural features described herein.
The features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the disclosure without undue experimentation. The features and advantages of the disclosure may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out herein.